Tyrann Mathieu

Tyrann Devine Mathieu (born May 13, 1992) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at LSU.

In college he developed a reputation for causing turnovers, setting a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record with 11 career forced fumbles and earning the nickname "the Honey Badger" after the mammal of the same name.

In his sophomore season, he was recognized as a consensus All-American, won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football program after that season due to a violation of team rules.

After his grandfather died in 1997, Mathieu was adopted by his uncle, Tyrone Mathieu, and aunt, Sheila Mathieu.

Mathieu also ran track and field for St. Augustine's track team and was a member of the relay team.

He was one of the state's top performers in the long jump.

He had personal-best leaps of 1.93 meters in the high jump and 7.29 meters in the long jump.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Mathieu was listed as the No. 13 cornerback in the nation in 2010.

Mathieu accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Les Miles's LSU Tigers football team from 2010 to 2011.

As a true freshman in 2010, Mathieu played in all 13 games with one start.

He finished the season with 57 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

This marked the second straight year an LSU defensive player won the nation's top defensive honor following Patrick Peterson in 2010.

He was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A&M after he recorded seven tackles, one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, one sack, and one pass breakup.

At the end of the 2011 regular season, Mathieu had 77 total tackles (60 solo and 17 assists), 1.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries (two returned for a touchdown), and two interceptions.

On special teams, Mathieu had 26 punt returns for 420 yards, with two returned for a touchdown.

On October 19, 2011, Mathieu was suspended for one game following a violation of LSU's drug policy.

Mathieu was named the most valuable player of the 2011 SEC Championship Game.

Mathieu earned the nickname "the Honey Badger" for his tenacious ability to play extremely tough football against much larger opponents, his knack for making big plays, as well as his dyed patch of blond hair on the top of his head in his college days which resembled the blond patch of hair on the back of a honey badger.

This led to him being a Heisman Trophy finalist, eventually finishing fifth.

On December 8, 2011, Mathieu was awarded the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the year's best defensive player in college football.

After spending a year out of football in 2012, he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, reuniting him in the defensive backfield with former college teammate Patrick Peterson.

As a rookie he was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team and has since earned three invitations to the Pro Bowl and has been named to the first-team All-Pro team three times.

Mathieu has also played for the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs, where he was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LIV.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mathieu attended St. Augustine High School, where he played for the St. Augustine Purple Knights high school football team.

He recorded 32 tackles, five interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery as a senior.

While living in New Orleans' Central City, Mathieu was raised by his grandparents.

His biological mother was absent the majority of the time and his biological father, Darrin Hayes, has been incarcerated for murder most of Mathieu's life.

On August 10, 2012, LSU head coach Les Miles announced that Mathieu would be dismissed from the football team due to a violation of team rules.

News outlets reported that the dismissal was a result of repeated drug test failures, although Miles did not confirm those reports.

On August 17, 2012, Mathieu withdrew from LSU and entered a drug rehabilitation program in Houston, Texas.

Mathieu's withdrawal was expected to last for the entire 2012–2013 academic year.

However, on September 4, 2012, Mathieu ended his withdrawal and enrolled for fall semester classes.

On October 25, 2012, Mathieu and three other LSU former players were arrested on possession of marijuana.

On November 29, 2012, it was announced that Mathieu would enter the NFL Draft.

Mathieu had formerly expressed an interest in returning to the program for the 2013 season.

Mathieu participated at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine on February 26, 2013.

He ran a 4.50 40-yard dash, had 4 reps of 225 pounds, a 34-inch vertical, and a 117-inch broad jump.

He also later participated at his pro day on March 27, 2013.